Retraction of the tone.

8. In the above cases, although the tone has been made to rest upon the penult by the influence of certain adventitious causes which have operated to remove it from its original place on the ultimate syllable, yet it may be now said to belong there; this has become its established seat; and it is not customary to speak of its being retracted from the last syllable to the place it now occupies. There are numerous cases, however, in which words that originally and ordinarily have the tone on the ultimate are subjected to influences which draw it back upon the penult. Of these the following are the principal, in all which the retraction of the tone is owing to accidental causes.

(a) When the particle (and), usually termed Vav Conversive (§ 34.) is prefixed to the future of verbs; as 2 or 2, but

we have

As a necessary condition to this the last syllable must end in one of the radical letters of the verb, and its penult be simple not mixed. This confines the effect principally to the singular number; thus from but remains unchanged. So where the penult is mixed, pp (Milra), (also Milra).-In verbs ending with a quiescent, particularly, and therefore not capable of having the last syllable mixed and short, the tone usu

וַיִּכָּלֶא not וַיִּכָּלֵא ; וַתָּבָא not וַתָּבֹא ally remains on the ultimate unaffected; as

The following cases, and some others similar, are to be regarded as anomalous; viz., 1 Kings 8. 20. Gen. 5. 5. 7337, 1 Sam. 10. 20. In Gen. 4. 3, the penult has the tone, though the ultimate remains long.

-זן

(b) A peculiar emphasis in a word, whether arising from an urgent command, exhortation, entreaty, prohibition, or resolution, generally has the effect to draw back the tone, particularly in futures and imperatives; as keep thyself, or take heed, instead

זן:

; אַל־תָּשֵׁב thou shalt not turn away, instead of אַל־תִּשֶׁב הִשָּׁמֵר of

- thou shalt not add, for pin- Prov. 30. 6, where the terminating vowel is absorbed on account of the strong affection of the speaker. So he shall rule, Ps. 72. 8, for

shall

(c) A word having the tone on the last syllable immediately followed by a monosyllable having a tone-accent, or by a dissyllable accented on the first, usually throws the tone upon the penult

in order to avoid the concurrence of two tone-syllables; as in

עָשָׂה לָנוּ instead of עָשָׂה לָנוּ ; חוֹסֵי-בוֹ instead of

T

Note. A vowel which had previously fallen away on account of the accession of a suffix is sometimes restored solely for the purpose of affording a seat

AT

אַתָּה

(d) A pause-accent produces the same effect; as n for e; for . For a more full account of the pause-accent, see § 22.

§ 22. PAUSE ACCENT.

1. Several of the more important accents enumerated above (§ 15), particularly Silluq (-), Athnahh (→), and Zakeph Qaton (-), are denominated in certain situations Pause Accents, from their effect in prolonging or delaying the sound of the voice on the tone-syllable. This influence of the pause is usually confined to a word closing a sentence, or part of a sentence, and gives rise to a new form only in certain situations; for the power of the pause cannot be distinctly expressed in all cases where it occurs; as e. g. in a monosyllabic word with a long vowel, asia, bip, which cannot be rendered longer by the pause. Generally indeed a sound long by nature remains without change, as, i.

זן

2. But in ordinary cases this accent has so marked an effect upon the forms of the words by changing their vowels as to give rise to a variety of what are termed pausal forms in contradistinction to usual forms. The general results may be stated as follows:

(a) A vowel short by nature passes over into its homogeneous long sound, as Pattah into Kamets, Kamets Hateph into Holem,

(b) As an exception to the general rule, such forms as 12,777 &c. become in pause because the original form was, 777 (from 2,777.) Tseri also in the last syllable often goes

AT

.אצל .in p אָצַל ; הָשֵׁב .in p הָשֵׁב ; חֵפֶר .in p הֵפֵר into Pattah, as

This usage appears still more obvious when Segol stands appropriately in the form from which the Pattahh arises, as 7, in p. ;

(c) When the last syllable of a word having upon it the tone begins with two consonants, as the effect of the pause accent is to remove the initial vocal Sheva and introduce a new

vowel in its stead.

This vowel is usually the long vowel homoge

neous with that which originally occupied its place, but was dropped in the course of flexion, as

In this case it is to be understood that the tone goes of course with the pause.

(d) The pause falling upon simple vocal Sheva substitutes Segol, as

Falling upon a composite Sheva it substitutes the corresponding long vowel, as

In certain cases, contrary to prevailing usage, the effect of the pause is to draw back the tone to the penult; especially in words spoken with emphasis, as in one's addressing another, or in exclamations, as

(g) In the case of the suffix

the final vowel (+) is frequently retracted by the pause to the preceding letter, converting the syllable from a simple to a mixed, as

ticles

-and regularly in the par הִשָּׁמְרָךְ אִתָּךְ צְרֶךְ .in p

(h) The pause accent sometimes restores a letter which had been dropped, as well as a vowel, particularly in Lamed He verbs,

PART II.

CHAPTER I.

23. CONSONANT AND VOWEL CHANGES, AND OTHER PECULIARITIES.

Preliminary Remarks.-There is a strong tendency in all languages, for the sake of euphony, to effect various changes in the structure of words by the assimilation, elision, addition, or transposition of letters. As certain vowels and consonants would, in particular situations, occasion sounds so difficult of utterance, or so grating to the ear, as to be at once painful to both speaker and hearer, changes are introduced into the constitution of words, which at first sight appear to be anomalous, and give great trouble to the learner until the laws by which they are regulated are understood. In no language, except perhaps the Arabic, is this more strikingly the case than in Hebrew. The principles and rules, therefore, laid down in this part of the grammar, though somewhat complicated and tedious, will be found of indispensable importance to a correct knowledge of the language; and when once they are mastered, the irksomeness of the study is vastly relieved. What at first appeared a mass of misshapen anomalies resolves itself into the obvious proprieties of a fixed and scientific system, the developement of which can scarcely fail to be followed out with all the interest of a process of demonstrative reasoning.

§ 24. CONSONANT CHANGES.

1, 1,

1. Commutation. Since all consonants differ only in degree, a sound can easily be commuted for another bordering upon it. This is of frequent occurrence in Hebrew, where there is comparatively but little firmness in the letters, causing the same, word to appear in quite different forms, as p, p, 2 to conceal. This is owing partly to the historical progressive modification of sounds, as dependent upon the action of the human organs on language, the general effect of which is to substitute the weaker and softer for the harder and rougher; partly upon the influence of formation and meaning in the roots; and partly upon casual changes produced by the near affinity of sounds, whether of those peculiar to the Hebrew, or to its cognate dialects. Accordingly,

(a) The T-sounds are easily changed into the S-sounds, as they are nearly related, and in this change the distinction of each individual sound of the former class is preserved in the latter, being changed into o, or more obscurely into , as for ation, from to interpret, Eccles. 8. 1; 7 into 1, as

interpretfor 97;

and vice versa gold, Chal. for Heb.; into y, as y for
3. Some changes of this sort have become permanently fixed in
Hebrew from a very ancient period, as the pronoun zeh, Ara-
maic di, related to the German da, and the Greek 70 (Latin tu),
in which the T (D)-sound is undoubtedly primitive. A reaction,
however, is occasionally observable when the T-sounds again pre-
dominate, as instead of (xaparow=xaparτw) Ex. 32. 16.
This is still more frequent in Aramaic.-Again, the stronger sibil-
ants change repeatedly into the softer ones, viz. 7 into, as p to
cry, to exult, to be little, into p, t, ; andy and into
() as p, p, and p into prip, op, por p; so i coat
of mail, and 17 Jer. 46. 4. Dia to act basely, for win. The
liquids,,, are more irregular in their softening, so that, as
being harder and rougher, is not unfrequently changed, in the later
periods of the language, into 3,

as

(of doubtful etymology) אַלְמְנוֹת So .הִצְהִיל to make bright, into הִצְהִיר and אַרְמְנוֹת Is. 13. 22. for ,for larpiov (פְּסַנְטֵרִין once) פְּסַנְתֵּרִין נִשְׁכָּה and לִשְׁכָּה we find both .to try בָּחַן and בָּחַר ,w to persecuteמַן and שָׁטֵם ,to tremble מוט for נוט

, as N and

The harder Gutturals too
suddenly, from
to defile, from 3.
(b) Different shades of meaning in the roots give rise to mani-
fold variations in the sounds, as 7, n, seldom on to destroy;
, to blow, np and np to be hard. As there is usually a
clear definite distinction of meaning connected with these changes,
so it may be remarked, that the derived, remote, more limited sense
has usually the softer sound, as to shut up,
na to slaughter, to sacrifice; to pour,

are gradually softened, especially into
a moment, to abominate, from 195,

ing metal or of a libation; to be beautiful,

rather to stop up; used rather of cast

to be suitable.

Of the casual the following are specific instances; Heb.
Ezek. 13. 10; Heb. to scatter, Aram.

to wander, Aram.

.9 ,2 .15 .proper name) Is) דימוֹן and דיבון only in Daniel. So בָּזָר

and to escape, (but always); 1,, back.

(d) Among the quiescents () commutation is very frequent, particularly where the pronunciation of the word is not materially

,Doeg דּוֹרֵג or אֵג ,rags בְּכוֹרִים or בְּרֹאִים affected by the change, as ,collection מִקְרָה or מִקְרָא,baldness קָרְחָה or קָרְחָא,to go יָלֵךְ or הָלַךְ .the first רִישׁוֹן or רִאשׁוֹן,to reveal בְּלַי or בָּלָה,head רוֹשׁ or ראש

Of further changes of 1 into see § 26. II.